No longer relegated to the realms of innuendo and secrecy, today we see a wide range of gender identities and sexual orientations represented on television and in mainstream film alongside cisgender people. 2SLGBTQ+ (two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, trans, queer and gender and sexually diverse communities) people see their reflections on screen in a wide variety of roles. And yet, there remain many challenges.
In Ontario, media components are included throughout the Healthy Active Living Education curriculum, especially within the Healthy Living Strand:
The Ontario Canadian and World Studies curriculum covers topics that pertain to media education. The Canadian and world studies program encompasses five subjects: economics, geography, history, law, and politics; all subjects that encompass media education themes. The grade eleven and twelve curriculum document, Canadian and World Studies, include the following goal:
In Ontario, media components are included throughout the Healthy Active Living Education curriculum, especially within the Substance Use and Abuse and Living Skills Strand:
The Ontario social sciences curriculum includes expectations that incorporate media education themes. The grade curriculum document Social Sciences and Humanities (2013) includes a section that demonstrates the complementary relationship between the critical thinking approach of media education and social sciences:
Career and Technology Studies (CTS) is a complementary program designed for Alberta's secondary school students.
Many curricular expectations in Alberta Ethics courses relate to media and digital literacy. The following excerpts from Ethics A.1 (Junior High) (1985) detail how media and digital literacy have been integrated into the curriculum:
The Northwest Territories has a single curriculum for kindergarten that is based on play-based learning as outlined in the document NWT Right from the Start: Early Childhood Development Framework and Action Plan.
The YouTube video “Ultimate Dog Tease” has jumped from 15 million to 37 million views since the beginning of May 2011. The “JK Wedding Entrance Dance” has hit 67 million views since it was launched on YouTube. These two videos have more followers than some TV shows. They're fun, they're silly and, like YouTube as a medium, they are worth celebrating.
The internet is all about sharing – sharing news, sharing videos, sharing our thoughts and opinions with our friends.